A lecturer of Civil Engineering, Dr Andrew Tyopine has said that good quality of cement would determine durability of civil work and avoid building collapse.
Tyopine, of the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ebonyi State said this in an interview with newsmen recently in Abuja.
He said it was also important that people were educated on available types of cement in the market, adding that different types of cement were meant for different civil works.
According to him, the population of the country is increasing, making it necessary to erect buildings to meet the needs of the population.
He added that “quality cement is just what is required for any durable civil work.
“If the population of Nigeria is educated on how to use cement and what type of cement to look out for in the market, it will go a long way to avert the menace of building collapse.
“In the market, we have cement that are used for masonry work and such cannot be used for high weight carrying structures like sky scrapers and bridges,” Tyopine said.
He explained that there were four types of cement for civil works which included:  the type one, two, three and four.
The lecturer said that type one, which was regarded as the best quality cement is known as Portland cement, while type two was comparable to type one, but allows for adulteration.
“These are the types of cement available for Nigerians who want to build houses of residence.
“Cement type three, known as air entrenched or sulphur resistant cement and the type four, are for highly specialised works, and used in oil wells, bridges,etc.”
The don urged Federal Government to enforce the code and standard for engineering works to reduce the menace of building collapse caused by substandard products, including poor cement quality.
Tyopine advised Federal Government to address the issue of building collapse, noting that if the situation was not checked, there would be huge housing challenge by 2022.